


What Happens in the Aftermath

by riphedwig



Category: Captain America (Movies), Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: BAMF Kate Bishop, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt Clint Barton, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, Minor Character Death, Rape/Non-con Elements, Slow Burn, This is a super dark fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:01:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29517768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riphedwig/pseuds/riphedwig
Summary: This story will follow Kate Bishop, who reads more like an OC as this is set in an AU timeline post end-game. It follows what happens to Kate after the death of her best friend Cassie Lang and how she copes with that and at the same time joins the Avengers teams. This is a slow burn into a Kate & Bucky relationship. Fair warning, this is probably my darkest fic as it dives into some heavy trauma and experiences on Kate's end. Set after Endgame but will have plot holes and event changes that fit better to the story than what canonically occurs.tldr; Kate joins the Avengers following the death of her best friend and teammate Cassie Lang and strikes up an interesting relationship with Bucky Barnes.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Kate Bishop, Clint Barton & Kate Bishop & Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes & Kate Bishop, James "Bucky" Barnes/Kate Bishop, James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s)





	1. Chapter 1

The projectile phased right past her ear taking a few strands of hair with it, but Kate kept running. Her knee tucked under her body as she leaped over a small barrier, her feet continuing to push her forward the second they hit the ground. Her arm reaching back behind her and closing around the skinny rod of her arrow, pulling it out of its sheath. Her hands worked quickly as her feet continued carrying her towards her end target, her body ducking and twisting to avoid the projectiles being shot at her. The smile on Kate’s face was unfamiliar to everyone but her, she was staring directly at a dead end. The concrete wall in front of her riddled with holes from the bullets being shot at her. Without hesitation Kate continued running straight for it, her foot then finding purchase against the wall as she used it to flip herself backwards. The bow in her hand cocked with an arrow, and time seemed to slow. Kate’s body was mid back flip yet all she could see was the turret like device at the other end of the compound. With the simple release of her fingers the arrow shot across the distance and latched on to the turret. As she landed, her back to the turret itself, it exploded. Kate’s head whipped around to the smoking device and she let out a breath of relief through her smile. 

“Aye, Great job!” the familiar voice said above her. She turned to look up at Sam Wilson with a smile. Besides him Bucky Barnes, whose face remained incredibly stoic, just walked away. Kate rolled her eyes and climbed the ladder to the observatory deck.

“Yeah? Well perfect you can pay for my hair cut then” she said, lifting up the end of her ponytail to see the ends were completely singed. 

“Fair enough” Sam shrugged and walked out of the training center with her. “You’re a lot more focused in there then you used to be.” he said, his head tilting down towards her as they walked. Despite Sam being just barely above the average male height he still held a good few inches on her 5’5 frame. 

“It’s harder to focus on other things when your life is in danger.” she said back, her tone light and teasing.

Sam let out a laugh, “You’re the one who sets it to hardcore mode!” he defended. And he wasn’t wrong, Kate purposefully upped the ante during training sessions. She was pretty sure Sam was convinced it was because he thought she felt she had something to prove. She was okay with him believing that. It beat him knowing the truth and beat her having to come to terms with the truth as well. She stopped at the locker room door and waved Sam off before entering the room.

The adrenaline was making its way out of her system now, the aches and pain that came after every training session and plagued her daily started to seep back in. She winced while taking off the cropped long sleeve combat top, despite it’s lightweight appearance it was quite dense. Kevlar was woven into the fabric along with other things for added protection that Kate didn’t pay much attention to. It helped keep the bullets out of her body and that is all that mattered, instead they just left nasty welts. Some of which were now forming as she looked down over her sports bra clad chest. She refused to focus on them too long, instead she tossed her shirt back against a row of lockers and walked over to the ice bath. She turned the faucet on and let it fill up halfway with water. As it filled up she changed into compression shorts and started dumping buckets of ice into the water. Slowly she climbed in, letting the numbness take over her body. 

The routine was always the same, she would train or work out, come in for an ice bath and the frigid cold would numb her body. But the numbness never reached her brain despite how many times she begged. The tears slipped down her cheeks and she didn’t do anything to stop them. She just let them roll off her cheeks and join the ice below her, taking a deep breath she willed them to stop. Her teeth chattering disguised the quivering of her chin and for that she was thankful. Her phone alarm went off next to her and she pushed herself out of the ice bath, and as if it was an unspoken routine a robe was tossed in her direction and she caught it. Her eyes met his and she shrugged the robe onto her red & numb body. Kicking the lever to drain the tub she walked back towards the locker, wiping her tears away as she went.

Her relationship with the Winter Soldier was odd. They didn’t communicate all that much but always seemed to be on the same wavelength. There was no set schedule to training or using the gym, kind of a first come first serve basis. But Bucky and Kate had fallen into similar schedules. It wasn’t the first time the one armed death machine had walked in on her crying after a workout or training. The snap back to reality after exhausting all her energy was always the hardest. He didn’t question it, never brought it up, and from what she could tell he didn’t tell Sam either. For that she was thankful, Sam had been begging her to seek therapy since she started staying at the compound. If he found out about her not being as fine as she insisted she was, she would probably lose privileges until she was cleared. 

What Kate did know was that Bucky didn’t like her for some reason. At first she was sure it was just his demeanour, but then she saw how he interacted with other people and realized he only acted that way towards her. She knew it couldn’t have been something she said, as they barely had a full conversation. In fact, the only real interaction they had, beyond quiet looks and muffled pleasantries, was when she was first brought here. Clint carried her in as if she were a newborn baby being dropped off at a firehouse. She was still swaddled in the blankets from her bed, the asshole snatched her up while she was sleeping. He brought her to the compound and stuck her on a sofa, and then pulled Sam aside and talked with him and the whole time they stole glances at her as if it wasn’t totally obvious they were talking about her. 

She had a busted up lip, a black eye, and the gash on her arm had opened up again and was actively bleeding. But she stayed swaddled in her blankets as if they were a forcefield to the outside world. She glared over at Sam and Clint as they talked as if her stare would do enough to convince them she didn’t need to stay here. She was so focused on being angry she didn’t even notice Bucky had walked in, or he was just always that quiet. Her gash was soaking through the blanket and Bucky immediately tried to tend to her wound. Kate, of course, flipped out and fly swatted at him till he grabbed both of her hands. A few minutes later she was patched up, a bit roughly, and sitting on the couch next to him waiting for her mentor to come back.

Clint never did say goodbye to her that day, instead after ending his conversation with Sam he just left. Which was probably for the better any way because Kate would have had plenty of choice words for him. Even just thinking about him made her mad, the soft side of her fist connected with the metal lockers. She leaned her head against them then, taking a deep breath. In case it wasn’t obvious, Kate was not okay. Not now, not before, and she had settled in with the fact that she might not ever be okay again.

But still, she couldn't imagine anything she had done to have pissed off Bucky so much. Sure she might have slapped him in the face, but if he really didn’t like her from that then why did he stitch her back up? She sat down against the lockers, grabbing her back and pulling it into her lap as she pulled out her clothes. She knew he was still here, had probably snuck an angle on her to see if she was okay after her personal attack on the lockers and was now most likely showering. She had about 5 minutes to change back into her normal clothes, brush through her hair, and leave before he would occupy the space she was in. So she was surprised after pulling her shirt back over her head to find him standing across from her, leaning against the half wall.

She fixed her shirt, pulling it down the rest of her body as she stared at him. Her eyebrow raised expectantly, if he wanted to say something he better talk fast. She was two seconds from grabbing her bag and leaving. 

“You should really take him up on his offer.” he finally said, his eyes not meeting hers. He was polite enough to stare at her chin or shoulder and not at her chest like Peter's friends tended to do. She knew he was referencing Sam and his endless pleas to get her into therapy. 

Kate’s short laugh was sarcastic, “because therapy worked so well for you.” she retorted, her tone still sassy. She might not have been around for all of it, but she heard stories. After the snap and the return to normal Bucky had gone to therapy to work on some of his demons. It sent him into a dark spiral, the only reason he was cleared for combat is because he fought his way out of it. Peter also had this idea that there was a girl involved, but Kate was pretty sure that was just his own romantical fantasies playing out.

Bucky pushed off the half wall while shaking his head, he turned and began to walk away from her. “You won’t be able to fight your way through this Kate.” he replied, despite the fact that his back was facing her.

“Why not? You did.” If his comment hadn’t sent anger pulsing through her veins she would have gotten caught up on the fact that she was pretty sure he just addressed her by her name for the first time. But instead, she just grabbed her bag and stormed out of the room. What right did he have to tell her how to deal with her demons. What right did he have to out of nowhere comment on how she lived her life when he wasn’t even a part of it. He rarely spoke to her or even paid attention to her in the slightest. So in what world did he have the audacity to comment on anything even remotely related to her. Her trip back to her room was short as she practically stomped her way there.


	2. Chapter 2: The Beginning

After a much needed shower, comfier clothes and a quick trip to a hair salon, Kate was back in the compound. Stirring a pot of boiling liquid with a spoon absentmindedly. She wasn’t thinking of much, instead letting the dull aches of her body send her into a daydream of sorts.

“You got a haircut!” Peter’s voice broke her out of her trance. She smiled over at him as a form of a greeting and placed the spoon in a holder next to the pot. 

“Uh yeah, I kind of scorched half it off in training today anyway so I just thought…” she trailed off, her hand coming to her hair which now just barely dusted her shoulder. A drastic difference to what it had been this morning where it fell to the lower half of her back. 

“Damn.” Peter said, looking over her hair. She noticed his one hand was hovering, as if he wanted to reach out and touch it. She laughed a little before returning to the pot. “Well, I think it looks great.” he seemed to be attempting to sound convincing, but failed miserably.

“Peter, I like it. I wouldn’t have cut it if I didn’t want to.” she said back, lifting the spoon and blowing on it before tasting the brown liquid. “ I’m making spring rolls and peanut sauce if you want some?” she asked, turning back to him.

“Oh, oh right.” he had saddled up on the island seats, his backpack up on the counter next to him. “ Do these ones have tofu in them? Because I really did try hard to like them last time, but it still just tasted like flavored air to me.” As she brought a plate of spring rolls out from the warming oven he moved his backpack down to his feet. A thud that was too loud to be books made her look at him with suspicious eyes.

“No tofu, these are chicken.” she put the plate down in front of him. Turning back to the pot and draining the sauce into a small bowl before putting it next to the plate on the counter. On her way around the island she scooped up his backpack, placing it in her lap as she sat down. “What is this?” she asked, pulling out a bunch of scrap and a giant metal box.

Peter’s eyes grew wide as he looked over at her, his mouth full of a half eaten spring roll and peanut sauce dripping from the corners of his mouth. She was surprised he hadn’t picked up on her grabbing the bag, either her stealth skills were improving or his spider senses didn’t work as well when he was hungry.

“One of my professors brought me in some stuff from his garage that he doesn’t use. I told him it was for a generator I'm making for my Aunt May but… I think I could make some improvements to the suit.” his voice sounded guilty, his head hung a bit as he took another bite.

Kate mimicked him, picking up a spring roll herself and dipping it in the sauce before she took a smaller bite. “ Peter, I don’t think he would be mad if you made your own improvements or adjustments. In fact, I’m fairly certain he would be mad if you didn’t. By the time Morgan's old enough to even know if she’ll want to follow in her dad’s footsteps, Bruce won’t be the one teaching her.” she looked at him then, hoping she didn’t have to fill the rest in. 

It didn’t take an idiot to know that Tony had made plans for everyone in the event of his untimely demise. And that even in his death he had certain expectations for certain people. Like a car that came to pick up Bruce once a week and was only allowed to take him to their house. Forcing Bruce to be a part of Morgan’s life, stepping up with Happy to be the father figures she needed. Not that Bruce complained, or ever would. Sam and Bucky got full command over the compound and all of the Stark Relief Foundation. He passed on the torch of leading the Avengers to them. And although Peter had yet to see it, or even realize it fully himself. Tony left him his innovation, his lab, his tech, his legacy. Kate could see the potential in Peter, the gadgets he would come up with, the things he would build. And if Kate could see it after spending only months with him, she knew Tony saw a lot more. 

“ I know, I know” Peter defended, his voice a little shy. “I just … I miss him. So much, I miss him so much. And I feel like if I change the suit, or take something out… I'm taking a part of him out and I don’t want to do that Kate. I can’t. I still need him.” Kate’s hand laid softly over his, a soft attempt to gain his attention again.

“I know you do Peter” her voice wavered, she sucked in a breath. “ I know you miss him, but he is always with you. And changing a suit won’t send him away.” she was crying now. Although the tears weren’t for Tony, his death still made her sad. She gave his hand a quick squeeze, scooting off the chair and grabbing another plate. Her hand came up to wipe the tears off her cheeks as she piled on a few spring rolls onto an additional plate, packed a new bowl with sauce, and balanced it all on one hand. “Why don’t you go hang down in the lab, if you’re still there later i’ll swing by?” she said, giving him a quick smile before excusing herself. 

Kate often wondered if it was easier for Peter, if getting snapped was easier than having to live through all of it. It’s not like she could ask right? They all suffered, everyone suffered. But the only people who she could ask, the only people she wanted to talk to about it … weren’t here anymore. Clint and her weren’t on speaking terms anymore, Natasha was dead, Steve was gone in his own way too. She hadn’t felt this way during it all though, her mind flashing memories through her head like a slideshow. She made her way down towards the library room and set up shop at one of the tables. 

She hated to say it, but during the snap was probably the best time of her life. It all started right before the snap, when she found out her dad was in deep with some really shady people. It didn’t surprise her all that much though, she grew up in a considerably rich neighborhood, got to wear designer clothes and fit in with all the other private school girls from the upper east side. She could have easily been a Blair Waldorf if it weren’t for the love of sports, and the complete disinterest in popularity politics. But her house was filled with fake collectibles, her father worked very strange hours, and the rest of her extended family didn’t seem to be half as well off as they were. None of it added up, so Kate started to get a bit of a hero complex and soon she was stalking her own father. A knife from the kitchen and an old ski mask over her face and she was apprehending him in the middle of a large drug deal. Kate never told her mom or sister that she was the reason her father was still serving his time in prison, but then again they never really asked. 

Kate thought nothing of it either when her mother took a trip out alone to Colorado. She deserved a break after being married to that asshole for all of those years. So, Kate was more than capable of getting to school by herself, and she had plenty of friends that could drive her home after practice. Her older sister, Susan, was a natural in the kitchen and could whip them up dinner each night. When two weeks turned into three, it wasn’t really a bother… the bishop girls were doing fine on their own. Until a police officer knocked on their door and they were told their mother had died in a ski accident the week prior. Sure, their mother’s death was tough on both the girls but they persevered. 

Susan dedicated a lot of time to school work, she was going to graduate early with her masters from NYU. Kate on the other hand went a different route, she missed the thrill of following her father. Sussing out crime and catching criminals, so she sought out to do just that. Her first few nights on the town didn’t surmount too much, probably stopping a raccoon from eating a stray cat but that was about it. It wasn’t until she faced the harsh truth of how defenseless she was that she realized she needed much more than sassy remarks in order to really save people. So she quit the gymnastics team, started taking self defense classes, took up boxing, fell asleep reading art of war, or stealthonomics. He made an appearance soon after that, she watched him take down a common street thug like a snap of his fingers. She made it a point to follow him after that, she didn’t do that great of a job but started picking up on small things. It wasn’t until the footage came in from Sokovia that she realized who he was. 

She confronted him on a rooftop, enticing him to follow her as a confrontation but she was the one waiting for him. 

“What do you want, kid?” He stayed so far away, keeping his distance.

“ To learn?” she called to him, crossing her arms over her chest. She couldn’t even hide her proud smile. “ I’m one juiced up meathead from a permanent stay in the hospital and every place I go to refuses to teach me anything more than the basics.” 

“What does that have to do with me?” His stance was stoic yet still intimidating.

“You stand next to a literal god as your day job and have walked away from every fight. Either you’ve been hiding some super cool power behind your bow, or you’re really good at what you do.” she said, stepping closer with a shrug. “ Listen, I think that bow and arrow is pretty fucking cool, I can shoot, it hits the target at least. But I know you can teach me more, I know you can teach me how to be better, and smarter, how to fight correctly…” she was rambling but just trying to get her point of cross.

He started walking away, his hands up in a shrug, but he never turned his back on her.

“Teach me so I can so I can help other people. Teach me so I can stop other girls from being attacked. Teach me so that I when you guys aren’t around, at least someone can be.” her voice was filled with desperation, it seemed to be working because he stopped. “I’m not asking to join you guys, i’m not a groupie that wants to stand next to captain america and the hulk and fulfill some fantasy about being a superhero. I just want to stop shitty things happening to good people and I want to be able to do it right.”

“Jeez kid, alright. Step down from your soapbox” Clint closed the distance then, checking her over. “Meet me here Tuesday morning, before the sun breaks, you can figure that out on your own. Do you have your own bow?” he shook his head, “Nevermind, don’t worry about it” And with that he nodded at her and turned to walk away.

“My name is Kate by the way!” she called out after him. He stopped at the ledge, turned to face her and through a lucky ray of moonlight she caught his smile.

“Didn’t ask” and Clint simply jumped off the roof.

Kate kicked her feet up on the table. The ‘screen’ flashed to life in front of her, just a projection of light and technology that Kate didn’t understand. She grabbed the tablet and pulled out the stylus, tapping around until she pulled up her blueprints. That’s all they were, notes and annotations on rough sketches and drawings. She didn’t have the skill to make the bows she wanted, she tried to sit with Peter and learn but she ended up getting distracted or bored. Most of the times it was the boredom, the tiny little details that made things work… she didn’t care about that. She just wanted the bow to collapse the way that was natural for her, she wanted the arrows to be able to fragment and disperse tracking devices. 

With Tony not being in the picture anymore their unlimited supply of upgrades and new tech had seriously diminished. The amount of times she walked past a smashed table in the lab and a bumbling hulk not too far behind told her that too many people were going to Bruce to fix their problems. Despite him not being able to do much. Honestly, her best bet besides Peter was Scott Lang, but that was an impossibility. And a raccoon she never met that was currently off in space somewhere.

So instead Kate stuck to her notes and when Peter had the time, or his little crew of stupidly smart buddies were allowed in, and casually slipped her his ideas and awaited the nice little present she’d get outside her door. 

She didn’t get to revel in her loneliness long though as Wanda popped her head in the door. “You wouldn’t happen to know where an annoying archer with a hearing problem is, would you?” she asked, her tone light and teasing evident even through her accent.

“ sadly, I don’t. But I do know of an even greater archer who is much better company.” Kate replied back with a smile.

“Perfect. Suit up, we leave in thirty.”

Kate strapped down the arm bands onto her forearms as she stepped into the jet. Her satchel filled with arrows on her back, her bow in a back with additional arrows hanging in her hand. Wanda stood off to the side with Sam, Bucky was pushing his bag into a cubby hole and Peter was walking up behind her. Suddenly an orange circle emerged in the middle of the group and Dr. Strange emerged, his red cape billowing behind him. 

The others mumbled their greetings returning to whatever it was they were doing. Dr. Strange looked at Kate with a raised eyebrow before extending his hand towards her.

“Dr. Strange” his hands were covered in scars, she pretended not to notice.

“Hawkeye.” she responded, her tone could barely be called polite. When Dr.Strange looked at her confused and opened his mouth she cut him off. “Protege. But he doesn’t come around much anymore so…”

Nodding he then made his way to the front of the jet and helped Sam set course. They briefed on the ride over and devised their plan.

An old HYDRA base had been seeing high levels of activity recently which meant that something or someone was using it. Their job was to go in and stop it. Should have been easy.

Kate’s back was up against a tree, the voices of her teammates sounding off in her ear. Her breathing was uneven and she was trying to control it to assure her shot. They were extremely out manned and surprisingly outgunned. Advanced weaponry that they hadn’t expected had basically thrown their plan out the window.

“Please tell me someone has at least breached the perimeter already” Kate spit out over comms, not caring that she was supposed to keep her commentary to a minimum. She was under strict orders from the new captain america to listen to orders and stay back. Of course she hadn’t listened and closed in on their position, how was she to help keep an eye on things if she was too far out to actually see.

Her positioning was given away quite quickly however after a blast from a tank leveled the tree she was hiding against. “ we’re in” Sam bit back, she could hear the soft sounds of fighting behind his words. 

They improvised a new plan, shouting out orders and receiving feedback immediately. Kate stayed in her position, taking out drones, tanks, and the occasional straggler when she got a shot off. She was lining up a shot when she heard the footsteps. Three people max but they were already too close for Kate to run and secure a better defensive position. She heard the weapon fire up, quickly wracking her bow and shooting it in the direction of the noise. She knew she hit her mark when the sounds of strangulation took hold and they all thudded to the ground. But she was still too late, the weapon had gone off and singed her thigh. She double tapped on the communication device stuck besides her ear, turning it off so the rest of the team couldn’t hear her.

“Fucking hell” she cried out, sliding down the tree as her wound actively bled. She couldn’t even put pressure on it as it was still smoking from being scorched. She took a few deep breaths, and then a few quick ones to attempt to mentally push away the pain. Nothing was working, she cried out knowing that her teammates were all too far and too preoccupied to help her. More footsteps came in around her, she was fucked.

She scrambled to get up biting through her lip to conceal the scream that threatened to rip out as she stood up. She basically dragged her right leg behind her as she pushed off each tree in order to further the distance between herself and the boots. She tapped her comms device back on and their voices flooded her ears. They were in the thick of it too, she couldn’t interrupt the comms but she also needed to tell them that reinforcements were coming. A second wave would be following in behind them and they’d be surrounded. She waited for a lull, attempting to run down the side of a hill crashing into trees and bushes, sliding down the snow and mud. She wouldn’t be able to push herself much farther, she was considerably weak and her vision was beginning to condense. 

“Second wave incoming” she said, cutting off Sam as he barked an order to Peter. 

“What? Kate, repeat last.” Bucky’s voice was too loud in her ears. 

“They’re coming in from the east” she paused, talking was tiring her out too. She was fading fast. “Ground...ground units.” she crashed into another tree and slid down it,her legs completely giving up. Her lack of control caused her to land on her bad leg and she cried out in pain as she forced herself to roll over.

“Kate where are you?” Sam called through.

“I’m on it!” Peter responded, no doubt slingshotting his way back to her location. 

Kate had no choice to succumb to her injuries, the world fading to black around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, she is already in trouble.. so stay tuned to find out exactly what is going on !


	3. Chapter 3: The Destruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark. Dark. DARK.

When Kate awoke the room she was in was barely lit, instead it was covered in a dim glow. Just enough for Kate to see her hand if it was directly in front of her face. She looked at her surroundings, four walls and a twin bed that she was currently occupying. The mattress was too thin, she could feel the metal grates underneath it. The outermost wall looked hazy and the light was behind it. She didn’t have to question much though as the wall’s blurred feature faded and revealed a hallway. The wall was made entirely of glass and the light fixture on the ceiling in the hallway provided the only light at the moment. At least she got a better look at where she was held, the walls were dense concrete with few cracks and cold to the touch. She surmised they were underground as there were no windows that she could see on her own, even as she approached the windowed wall. More lights flickered on as she heard the metal clashing of a door opening. 

A man walked up to her cell, not even greeting her with a polite smile. “Katherine Bishop” he explained to the people around him. Kate grinded her teeth at the use of her full name. Mostly because it wasn’t public knowledge and because only her father had ever called her Katherine. 

He started to speak in a language she didn’t quite understand but could pick up hints of what she could best describe as a eastern european accent, similar to Wanda’s but a bit more harsh. It sounded vaguely familiar but she couldn’t quite place it. After a few minutes of Kate glaring at the crowd in front of her they dispersed, walking through another set of doors leaving Kate with the man who did all the talking.

“I see your wound has gotten better.” His accent was thick, but understandable. Kate’s hand reached to her thigh, a thick bandage surrounded the place her wound once was, it didn’t hurt to the touch. She realized she had been out longer than she thought, that wasn’t good. “We’ve been waiting for you to wake up. Even stubborn in your sleep I see.” he acted as if it was an amusing joke. Kate’s expression stayed the same. 

Clint and Natasha had trained her for moments like these. When Nat had found out about Clint’s little pet project she confronted Kate at her own apartment. Kate had won Nat over more easily than she did Clint. Nat taught her almost as much as Clint did, just different tactics. Nat provided the information she needed as a woman, the things Clint could never teach her. Now she appreciated that more than ever. 

Kate wouldn’t budge, wouldn’t spill, wouldn’t do anything these people wanted. Even if it resulted in her death, she was prepared for that outcome. Welcomed it even if she needed to. Squaring her shoulders, Kate raised an eyebrow at the man. Almost as if to say ‘ get on with it’. 

The man chuckled, “ You weren’t who we had hoped, but we will take what we can get. Long ago, something was taken from us, and we want it back. We just need to know where it is.”

Kate shrugged her shoulders, “and what makes you think that i’d give that information up?” she had no idea what he was referring to anyway.

“I’ve been told I’m quite persuasive.” he said with a cocky grin, “and if that doesn’t work, we have proven methods of … extraction.” Kate knew that was just a nice way of saying torture. 

“Well, I’m sorry to ruin your streak, but you’re not getting shit out of me.”

“We’ll see about that Katherine.”

Kate didn’t know how many days had gone by, how many hours she had spent in the cell, how many minutes she spent wishing they would just kill her. 

She couldn’t even react when she heard the distant sounds of fighting, she just laid against the tattered padding of her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Didn’t move when the glass wall shattered and fell to pieces on the other side of the room. Incapable of showing any emotion when Clint’s concerned face appeared above her, stayed silent when he asked her questions, her body falling like a ragdoll as he scooped her up in his arms.

She rolled in and out of consciousness as she was brought out of the compound. Ignorant to the amount of people who were around her. The raccoon and Bucky spraying bullets side by side as the tree man’s roots intertwined between them and lashed out at different people. Lightning struck the ground and frying the tanks as they rolled up. Gunmen seemingly knocked themselves out before two figures suddenly appeared in front of them to finish the job before shrinking down once more. The red caped crusader flying above the group with the sassy star man next to him. The whole team had come out to play and Kate was being rushed to the jet in the arms of her mentor as Bruce waited impatiently. 

Clint dropped her into the palm of the Hulk before hesitantly returning to the fight. Bruce tucked her into the cradle, and began to do his work up as the team continued their assault on the base.

After a few hours the base was leveled out and any survivors were being escorted into SWORD's care, most likely being detained and sent to the raft. The team regrouped and made its way back to the new compound.

“What are we looking at?” Clint asked, walking up next to Kate’s medical bed. 

Bruce shook his head, “She’s malnourished but not detrimentally, considerably weaker, but… we’ll need an actual physician to do a full work up.” he said, giving Clint a sympathetic smile. 

“I’ll call Dr. Cho” Sam said, excusing himself as Bucky trailed behind him. “Go debrief with the team. Tell them we’ll update on her status, but for them to stay close until we know what happened and what they were after.” The metal armed man nodded and they went their separate ways. 

Dr. Cho worked fast, she kept Kate under sedation for her benefit and also for Dr. Cho’s safety as she didn’t need the girl waking up mid exam in a disoriented state. After the work up was done she was met with Clint, Sam, Bucky and Wanda all waiting for their update. Peter stayed a few feet behind them clearly concerned and anxious. “She’ll be fine. She’ll need to be on nutrient packs for the next couple of weeks, slowly introducing solid foods as it seems as if she has been on a liquid diet for quite a while. I’m much more concerned about her mental health than her physical, as she didn’t seem to have any long lasting physical injuries.”

Satisfied with the answers they were given Clint moved to sit next to Kate, cradling her hand in his. Sam and Bucky left then, Bucky grabbing Peter’s shoulder on the way out and forcing him to follow. Peter objected at first but after a promise that he’d get her chance to see her later he reluctantly followed. Dr. Cho asked Wanda to stay for a minute.

“Due to the sensitive nature, I’d appreciate your discretion about what I'm about to tell you” Dr. Cho said to Wanda her voice falling just above a whisper. Wanda nodded and the doctor continued, “I did a full work up on her, she had a nasty wound on her right thigh that seemed to be mostly healed up and just has some light scarring. However she had some more, internal injuries.” Dr.Cho was hesitant with her words, “i’m afraid that there was some non consensual activity conducted against Kate.” Wanda shuddered at the words, her hand coming up to rest against her mouth. 

“Okay. What does this mean?” the redhead asked. 

“My records state that she had an IUD but upon her exam it was not there. I’m unsure and unable to know how or when it was taken out. So I’ll be monitoring her and tracking for any… symptoms. When she wakes up, she will be in pain. The amount of damage…” Dr. Cho cleared her throat clearly uncomfortable with the situation at hand. “I’m unsure of what her mental state will be like when she awakes, but I doubt she’ll want to have any version of this conversation with Clint.”

“I’ll handle it,” Wanda said, forcing the tears that threatened to travel down her cheeks away. “I’ll be there when she wakes up.”

Kate’s eye fluttered open a few hours later, the steady beeping of the machines around her calming her state of mind a bit. The dead weight on the side of the bed told her that Clint had since passed out. She looked around the room to find Wanda standing by the door. The woman crossed the room, her hand lifting and the red glow enveloping it spread out around Clint lifting him into the couch on the other side of the room. 

“How long?” Kate’s voice was raspy and raw, it was all she could do to get it above a whisper. 

“About a month.” Wanda answered, her eyes holding the guilt. 

“Don't,” Kate replied, wincing at the burn in her throat. “ It was my fault, i shouldn’t have moved.”

“Kate” Wanda started, her hand grabbing the brunettes. “ What they did..”

“I don’t want to talk about it” Kate shot back instantly, cutting the older girl off. The look Wanda gave her told her everything she needed to know. “At least not right now, okay?” 

Wanda nodded, “Fine, but… promise me you’ll come to me when you are ready. I don’t want you to have to go through that alone.”

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, super dark and its only getting darker. But eventually it will lighten up, i promise !!!

**Author's Note:**

> So this was the first chapter, set a while after Cassie's death. Leave comments, kudos, questions or whatever. Going to try to update this soon.


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